


Bad Dreams

by Ellie226



Series: Life at the Hummel House [2]
Category: Glee
Genre: Discipline, Spanking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-10-14
Updated: 2012-10-14
Packaged: 2017-11-16 07:52:59
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,448
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/537202
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ellie226/pseuds/Ellie226
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Losing Elizabeth was an adjustment for both of them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bad Dreams

Burt would be the first person to admit that it was his fault. After Elizabeth died, he just didn’t have it in him to punish his sweet, sensitive little boy. The son who reminded him so much of his wife.

And at first, it wasn’t really necessary. Kurt was so grief stricken in those first few months that he simply followed his dad around, a silent waif with giant eyes. Other than his new habit of not allowing Burt out of his sight, they didn’t have any real problems.

But Kurt was a kid. And like all kids, the good behavior didn’t last. It started out as little things. Kurt didn’t want to do his homework. He wasn’t ready to clean up his toys. He didn’t like that kind of bread, why had Burt bought it?

Seeing these small problems, Burt tried to crack down a bit. It was nothing big, but he realized that he had to assert his authority, or they were going to have a problem.

However, since it had been a while, Kurt didn’t really believe his dad’s threats. So he continued with the occasional limit testing. It seemed worth it to him to get time out for talking back or whining, and Dad hadn’t done anything else. 

Initially, Burt didn’t feel the need to do anything else. Although he and Elizabeth had spanked Kurt many times, they’d agreed that it wasn’t their first choice for a punishment. Kurt was generally very well behaved, and time out and removing privileges had worked very well for most infractions. 

There were only a few things that meant Kurt would definitely get a spanking. He wasn’t supposed to get into trouble when he was at school or being taken care of by another adult; he wasn’t allowed to do anything dangerous. Kurt had also been spanked on more than one occasion for repeatedly doing the same naughty thing (Burt had explained to Kurt that if he felt the need to do something again after he’d been given time out, it clearly meant that time out wasn’t cutting it). The big one though, was deliberate defiance. 

Although Kurt was just a generally good kid, he did have a stubborn streak. That, coupled with his mouth, had gotten him in more trouble than everything else combined. So it should have come as no surprise that that’s what ultimately led to the first spanking after Elizabeth died.

Kurt had taken to crawling into bed with Burt after he had nightmares. The therapist that Burt had taken him to said that was okay. Even when Kurt insisted upon starting out the night in Burt’s bed, he wasn’t that worried.

It was the night that Kurt decided that he wasn’t going to bed until Daddy did that Burt decided to put his foot down.

It started off easily enough. “Kiddo, time for PJs and teeth,” he told Kurt, hugging the small boy to his side.

“I’m not tired yet,” Kurt said, his de facto response.

Burt nodded, unsurprised. Trying to force Kurt up, the boy made himself go limp. “Yeah, I know. You never are. But it’s time to go get ready please.”

With a heavy sigh, Kurt stood up, then waited expectantly for his dad. Burt had been trying to slowly break Kurt of this habit, but bedtime was turning into such a power struggle that it wasn’t the time he typically forced the issue. So he followed Kurt up to his room, watching as he changed into pajamas, brushed his teeth, and washed his face.

When that was accomplished, Burt pulled the covers down on Kurt’s bed. “In you go kid.”

“I said I’m not tired yet though. You just said that I needed to get ready; I’m ready. I wanna watch the end of the movie.”

“Kurt,” Burt warned, feeling the familiar thrum of a tension headache starting, “you know that I told you we wouldn’t finish the movie tonight. We can watch the rest tomorrow, but it’s time for bed.”

“I’m not tired,” Kurt repeated patiently.

Burt sat heavily on the bed, holding out a hand toward his son. When Kurt reached him, Burt picked the boy up and settled him onto his lap. “I understand that you don’t feel tired, but you have to rest. Remember what we talked about? Sleep is when you grow.”

“Maybe I like being short,” Kurt grumbled, his cranky tone betrayed by his grip on Burt’s shirt.

“You wanna go to sleep in my bed?” Burt offered, figuring that was the trouble.

Kurt nodded, and Burt set him on his feet. Standing up, he started toward his own room.

“Daddy?” Kurt said quietly, standing still.

Burt reminded himself that the therapist had warned him that Kurt would likely regress for a while; Kurt didn’t normally call him Daddy. Turning, he smiled, “Yeah?”

Kurt silently held his arms out, obviously wanting to be carried, and Burt couldn’t help but oblige, although he did let out a little grunt. Short or not, the kid was heavy.

“You’re getting too big for this,” he admonished, even as he settled Kurt onto his hip and grabbed Henry from the bed. 

Kurt shook his head, arms wrapped around Burt’s neck, and he allowed himself to be carried into his dad’s room. It still smelled like Mommy in there, a soothing mixture of lavender, vanilla, and soap. When Daddy put him down on the bed, Kurt turned his head so he could inhale the scent still in her pillow.

“Okay buddy,” Burt said, reaching under Kurt to wiggle the covers down. Covering Kurt up, he leaned over to kiss his forehead. “Good night.”

Kurt gripped his hand, “Do bad dreams.”

Burt smiled, sitting on the bed next to Kurt. “Mommy always did the bad dreams, huh?”

Kurt nodded, smiling a little as Burt waved his arms over Kurt’s torso. “Bad dreams bad dreams go away, good dreams good dreams here to stay. Bad dreams bad dreams go away, good dreams good dreams here to stay. Bad dreams bad dreams go away, good dreams good dreams here to stay.”

Standing back up, he gave Kurt one last kiss, then walked to the door.

“Daddy?” Kurt called.

Burt stopped. He was tired too, and he really wanted to go and watch something stupid on TV and not think about how he was going to get up tomorrow and do all of this all over again. Not turning this time, he said, “Yeah kid?”

“Stay here?”

Burt shook his head at that. He’d talked about it with the therapist, and although it was normal for Kurt to be needier, Burt needed to make time for himself when he wasn’t working or being a parent. Burt had agreed that sending Kurt to bed and giving him at least an hour of time to himself was the best solution.

“No kiddo; you need to close your eyes and go to sleep. I’ll be up in a little while.”

“Nooooo,” Kurt whined, sitting up. 

“I’m going to leave the light in the hallway on,” Burt told him, ignoring the whining. Flicking the switch on the wall, Burt left Kurt alone in the room, making sure to keep the door cracked so there was some light from the hallway.

“Daaaaaadddddddyyyyyyy.”

“Good night,” Burt said calmly, starting down the stairs. 

After grabbing a beer, Burt sat on the couch and turned on the television. He’d barely made it to the first commercial break when he heard Kurt slowly making his way down the stairs. Letting his head drop to the back of the couch, Burt waited.

Kurt quietly walked over to his side, climbing up to sit next to him. “‘m not tired. I’ll go to bed when you go.”

“No, you’ll go to bed now,” Burt told him, fully expecting Kurt to stand up and drag himself back up the stairs.

“No,” Kurt said calmly.

“Kurt?” Burt asked, his voice very controlled, “Did that sound like a question to you? Because it wasn’t.”

“‘m not tired.”

“I don’t care; go to bed.” 

“But-”

Burt cut Kurt off. It had been a long day at the shop, and then he’d returned home to a grieving eight year old who just needed him all the time. “Go. To. Bed. Now.”

Kurt stood up, and Burt silently rejoiced. Unfortunately for him, Kurt wasn’t going to make this easy.

“NO!” he yelled at his dad, stomping his foot. “‘M NOT GOING!”

Burt closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath and counting to ten. It wasn’t going to do any good for him to lose his temper. Once he was certain that he could talk without blowing up, he stood, levelling a very stern look at Kurt, and said, “Yes you are. You are going to march your little butt right up to bed, or I’m going to spank you. Got it?”

Kurt knew that this was the point where he could still walk away. All he had to do was walk up the stairs and climb back into bed. And if he was being entirely honest with himself, he was even a bit tired.

“NO! NO NO NO NO NO! I DON’T WANNA GO TO BED!”

“One,” Burt’s voice was very very quiet, and Kurt almost turned and ran. But he stood his ground. Daddy might be acting like he did before he spanked, but he hadn’t done that in a long time.

“Two. I’m not messing around here Kurt. Go get in bed.”

“I don’t want to,” Kurt said, more subdued. 

Burt just wanted to sit down and drink his beer. Well, no. He wanted Elizabeth back. She always knew how to handle Kurt, and Burt felt like he was flailing.

Regardless of how lost he often felt dealing with his son, Burt did know that Kurt needed consistency. Crossing his arms over his chest, he gave one last warning, “Two and a half.” Even as he silently pleaded for Kurt to just go to bed.

When that didn’t work, he finished. “Three.” Grabbing Kurt by one arm, he pulled the now struggling boy over to him. Sitting heavily on the couch, he held Kurt in front of him. “What did I tell you was going to happen if you didn’t listen?”

Kurt didn’t answer his dad, wriggling wildy in an attempt to break free. “I don’t wanna go to bed!”

“Well, you’re going to. But what did I say would happen?” Gripping both of Kurt’s hands between his own, Burt gave them a tug to get Kurt’s attention.

Kurt’s eyes had widened, and he said, “I’m going to go to bed now.”

Burt couldn’t help but smile at that, “Nice try kiddo, but I gave you a chance to go to bed without help. What did I say was going to happen?” he hated having to do this, but Kurt needed a reminder that when Dad said he was going to do something, he was most definitely going to do it.

“I don’t wanna spanking,” Kurt squeaked, struggling.

“I don’t want-hey! Kurt! Knock it off. Listen to me,” Burt kept a tight grip on his son, worried that Kurt would take off and hide if he got free (not that he was going to be able to hide well, but that would just mean another discussion on the subject of not running away from Dad).

When Kurt stopped fighting, Burt continued, “I don’t want to spank you. I don’t like spanking you. But what did I say would happen if you didn’t listen?”

“I’d get a spanking,” Kurt said, so quietly that Burt had to strain.

“That’s right,” Burt agreed, keeping one hand tightly wrapped around Kurt’s wrist and using the other to tug down pajama bottoms. “I said you’d get a spanking.” Positioning the boy, who always seemed tinier than ever at times like this, Burt rested a work roughened hand on the bare buttocks in front of him. “Why am I doing this?”

“Didn’t listen,” Kurt said softly. He hadn’t thought Daddy would spank him! He would have just gone back up to bed if he had thought Daddy wasn’t bluffing.

“That’s right,” Burt agreed, bringing his hand down once, with enough force that Kurt squeaked. “You didn’t listen. I told you to go back to bed, but you didn’t. That’s very very bad, and in this house, little boys who do bad things like not listening to grown ups get spanked.”

Kurt whimpered, beginning to cry by the time Burt ended his little lecture, and it took everything in Burt to not just end the punishment then. But, despite all of his fears about not being enough for Kurt, he knew his son. And if he stopped the punishment now, they’d just go through the same exact problem tomorrow or the next day. Kurt needed boundaries; he needed to know exactly where the line was.

Resolved, Burt continued the spanking, although he couldn’t lecture anymore. He forced himself to focus on turning Kurt’s backside a uniform shade of medium pink (Elizabeth would have been able to have another name for it, Burt knew).

When Kurt was crying steadily, Burt stopped. Resting his hand once again, he said quietly, “Are you going to listen to me from now on?”

“Yes,” Kurt cried.

“No more trouble about going to bed?” 

Kurt shook his head wildly, “Nooooo.”

“Then I think we’re done,” Burt helped Kurt stand, pulling up pajama bottoms carefully. 

Kurt’s crying increased as he flung himself at his dad, wrapped his arms tightly around Burt as he apologized. “‘m sorry! ‘m really really sorry Daddy!”

“I know,” Burt hugged Kurt back. That had been hard. “We’re all done, and you’re not going to disobey me for a while, okay?”

“‘k Daddy. I’ll be good,” Kurt said quietly.

“I know you will, because you’re always good.” Burt rocked Kurt for a while, before standing up. Picking Kurt up, he began to make his way upstairs. “I’m going to tuck you back in, and no more trouble tonight.”

Kurt nodded sleepily, thumb slipping into his mouth. “‘k.”

Once Burt had him settled back under the covers, he started to make his way back down the stairs.

“Daddy?” he heard a tentative voice call.

So close. Stopping, Burt said, “What kiddo?”

“Love you,” Kurt mumbled.

Unable to help himself, Burt walked back to the bed, giving Kurt another hug. “I love you too,” he said, adding firmly, “Now go to sleep.”

“‘k Daddy,” Kurt said, smiling at him once before rolling onto his side, where he promptly fell asleep. As Burt walked back down the stairs, he felt a bit lighter. Maybe they’d be okay after all.


End file.
